


the inherent Homosexualities of a bowling alley

by SapphireAmethystPatch



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Carrie Wilson-centric, Carrie gets a job, F/M, Fluff, Good Person Carrie Wilson, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, barely edited, she supports two ghosts in love, silly little bowling dates, still is kind of a bitch to julie, the inherent homosexualities of a bowling alley, well sorta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:15:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29529729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphireAmethystPatch/pseuds/SapphireAmethystPatch
Summary: The last thing Carrie Wilson wants is to get a job like the other, poorer kids at school, but her father insists. Now, after the peculiar hauntings of a local forgotten bowling alley, work is the highlight of Carrie's week.Or, Alex and Willie have weekly dates at the bowling alley.
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina & Luke Patterson, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 22
Kudos: 163





	the inherent Homosexualities of a bowling alley

**Author's Note:**

> idea by @allhailthesanders on tumblr, you are a genius and you sparked such giddiness in my soul that i wrote this in one sitting

Trevor Wilson had always been… quirky, to put it lightly. Carrie had taken it in stride. He was her dad, after all, and she had grown up with him. But lately, he had been even weirder than usual. 

Leaving for emergency therapy appointments? It wasn’t a rare occurrence. Becoming transfixed with Julie Molina’s dumb Swedish hologram band? She could deal with that. But this? Carrie was so mad she could scream.

Of course her dad wanted her to get a job. Why not? Her life had already been flipped upside down. She didn’t even need the money. He said something about “responsibility” and “experience” or whatever, but Carrie wasn’t exactly listening.

A lot of arguments, five failed job interviews, and a small bribery from her dad later, Carrie found herself working for a bowling alley, of all places. No one even went bowling anymore!

For a while she was wiping counters and vacuuming the colorful arcade carpet, but after a few weeks she was promoted to clerk. At least she wouldn’t go braindead doing mindless tasks, and she found the quick mental math of transactions kept her from dying of boredom. Her favorite shift was after school on Friday, the rush of high school students (could it even be called a rush? They got less than 10 groups in on a busy day) gave her something exciting to do, and almost always gave her a good laugh. And then it always died out around 6pm, and she did her homework and texted her friends. At least she got to control the music playing quietly in the lobby.

“Carrie, I wanted to talk to you before you go.”

She stopped her trek to the door and turned on her heel, facing her manager with a plastered smile. She didn’t know much about Gary, just that he was about to graduate college and wanted to manage bowling alleys for the rest of his life. Alas, here he was, stopping Carrie from relishing the last few hours of her Friday evening.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“I don’t know if you heard, but Raelynn quit yesterday, didn’t even give a two weeks. I got the rest of her shifts distributed, but no one wants the after-school Wednesday shift. I think you can handle it?”

A weird feeling settled in Carrie’s chest, but she elected to ignore it. “What’s wrong with the after-school Wednesday shift? Isn’t that the least busy day?”

“Yes, but most find it… unsettling. Mark works all day Wednesday, but he’ll be in the back balancing inventory in the afternoon, so you’ll be alone up front. Can you handle it?” His grimace only made Carrie’s stomach drop further.

Well, Carrie didn’t have anything going on Wednesdays anyway. And by the look on Gary’s face, she was his last resort. And call her curious, but she was really intrigued as to why no one else wanted the shift. That, and she could always use more cash. Dirty Candy uniforms don’t pay for themselves (curse her father for cutting her allowance in half).

“Sure, why not?” Carrie smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” And then she was out the door, one of her father’s drivers waiting to pick her up.

* * * *

Finally, Wednesday came, and at this point, Carrie was antsy. She had told Kayla all about what Gary told her. Kayla had wished her luck. 

She walked in for her shift two minutes early, standing in front of the timesheet for an awful 120 seconds before clocking in right at 3pm. As usual, she went to the back to hang her jacket. 

“Hey Mark.” she greeted, throwing her hair up into a ponytail.

He spun toward her in his chair, papers on his desk forgotten. “Hey, Carrie. This is your first Wednesday shift, huh?” 

“Yeah, what’s up with that, anyway? Everyone’s acting like this is the worst shift.”

“Depends on how you look at it.” Carrie didn’t like the amused glint in his eye. “Anyway, just hang out up front, ring up anyone who comes in, you know the drill. But, there’s something else.”

He scooted closer, on the edge of his seat, and Carrie found herself leaning in closer like he was to whisper a secret, even though they were the only ones around.

“If you look on the reservation sheet, you’ll see Lane 5 is reserved for 5pm, our 5 for 5 as we call it. The two of them come in every Wednesday. Make sure you activate the lane at 5 on the dot, we don’t really like to keep them waiting.”

“Um, okay? That’s all?”

“Just… don’t get in their way. They’ll play a game or two, maybe grab some snacks, and let themselves out. Don’t worry about getting payment from them, they never take much anyway.”

“Uh, alright then.” Carrie wasn’t so sure she liked this anymore. Who were ‘they’? They just took what they wanted without paying? Who did they think they were?

Mark seemed to see her inner turmoil. “Don’t worry; they aren’t dangerous. At least, they haven’t attacked anyone so far.”

Not trusting herself to speak, she went back out to the lobby with a smile and a nod, where she spread out her homework on the counter and tried to focus. 

Around 4:40, she gave up trying to get her math homework done and opted to watch the clock. Her eyes kept flitting from the clock to the door. She knew she looked crazed, but there was no one to see her anyway.

As soon as the clock struck 5, she activated Lane 5. Not even a few seconds later, the front doors opened.

Carrie pretended to busy herself, looking from the side of her eye to see who walked in. She saw no one.

Before confusion could settle, she heard the clack of bowling balls on the rack. She looked towards the sound, only to see two floating bowling balls by the children’s rack, making their way towards the lane.

Carrie dropped her pen on the marble with a startling loud clatter. She winced, and looked back down at her work. After a few excruciating moments, she heard the faint pings of typing on the scoreboard. 

Looking at the monitor at her side, she could see the names being typed out on Lane 5.  _ Hot Dog  _ and  _ Speed Bump _ . 

There still wasn’t anybody at Lane 5, but once the isle lit up and the pins put down, one of the floating bowling balls from before (the pink one) started floating again. 

Hot Dog rolled a strike. 

With shaking hands, Carrie pulled out her phone to text Kayla, but thought better of it. She’d think she was crazy. Bowling balls can’t bowl themselves. 

And yet, when the scoreboard indicated it was Speed Bump’s turn, the green ball lifted up out of the rack. Carrie watched in fascination as the ball hovered, swung back a bit as if an invisible person was swinging it, and then it rolled, knocking down a solid 8 pins. 

Invisible people? How was that even possible? Her only explanation was ghosts, but ghosts weren’t real.

Right?

Eventually, Carrie straightened her shoulders and set to work on her math homework again. The periodic sound of ball hitting wood made her jump slightly every time. 

After a good half hour, the game ended and she silently prayed they would leave. Much to her surprise, a 5 dollar bill with a note attached with a paperclip slid over her homework. Carrie gasped, then looked up, startled and hoped they wouldn’t hurt her. 

To her left, the mini cooler displaying drinks opened, and two bottles of Coke floated out, the door closing gently. The soda bottles floated back to their lane and started another game.

If Carrie hadn’t been sitting down on a stool already, her knees would have given out.

Carrie willed her fingers to steady themselves as she picked up the note.

_ we found some money on the street, sorry we havent been able to pay before. i like your nails _

_ \- hot dog _

Carrie glanced at her manicure, white with black cow print. So they had taste. 

She hopped off the stool and walked to the back, money in hand. Mark seemed surprised to see her, but the look in his eye told her he’d been expecting her to come back.

“Our guests having a good time?”

“Seems like it. They left this and a note, then grabbed some soda. Note said they were sorry they couldn’t pay before and found this on the street.” She held out the bill for Mark to take. 

“Cool! They seem polite. Hot Dog’s pretty good, hits a lot of Brooklyns."

“Yeah, I guess. How long have they been coming?”

“Almost two months. The boss doesn’t really mind the occasional missing sodas or chili fries. And you gotta admit, it’s pretty cool. Their little weekly dates.”

“Do you think they’re ghosts?” Carrie whispered, as if they could hear her. Sudden paranoia hit. They literally could be anywhere.

“Who knows? Maybe one day someone’ll ask them.” Mark seemed heavily amused, a little too amused. Though, this  _ had _ been the most exciting thing to happen since she started working anyway.

Mark spoke again, pulling Carrie out of her thoughts. “Why don’t you go make sure they get out alright, maybe wave goodbye?”

“Sure, why not? I’ll wish the ghosts well.” Carrie said, a bite of sarcasm punctuating. Mark smiled at her and resumed his work.

When she got back to the lobby, Speed Bump was bowling their last go, ending their second game. The bowling balls floated over to their rack, and the empty bottles (or should she say, the ghosts holding the bottles? was it bad to assume they were ghosts?) went to the trashcan by the entrance and were thrown out. 

“Bye, I hope you had fun!”

She liked to imagine they waved back to her before walking out the door. 

* * * *

When she clocked into work the next Wednesday, Carrie liked to think she was more prepared. She got her homework out and scrolled Instagram until 5, activated Lane 5, and only a few moments later the two… whatever they were… put in their nicknames and started to play. Carrie noticed the door never opened. Could they walk through walls? 

The next week, Carrie put some of her allowance in the register for a funnel cake and fried one up the way Gary taught her. Just before the clock struck 5, she sprinkled powdered sugar over it and placed it on Table 5 with two cups and a pitcher of water. 

When she went around the tables at the end of the night to clean up, she found a thank you note scribbled on a napkin. She put it on her nightstand next to the first note. 

* * * *

After the funnel cake night, Carrie decided to tell Kayla. Funnel cakes didn't eat themselves. And Carrie wouldn't admit it, but she had snuck a look, and could see indents on the bench when they were sitting next to each other. And if the floating pieces of fried batter were any indication, they were feeding each other. It was too adorable. And it made Carrie proud that she could help them with their weird afterlife love story. 

"That is simultaneously the dumbest and sweetest I've ever heard." Kayla scoffed, not breaking her stride. Maybe a Thursday morning wasn't the best time to tell someone about the existence of romantic, bowling ghosts, but sue her. She was excited. 

Carrie rolled her eyes. "I'm being serious, Kay! It's romantic, that's what it is."

She could tell Kayla was still doubting her. "Whatever. What do you say their names were?"

"I'm sure these aren't their real names, but Hot Dog and Speed Bump. Probably an inside joke."

Before Carrie could even finish her sentence, a loud thump from behind startled her and everyone else in the hallway. There was Julie Molina. On the floor. Notebooks and pencils scattered around her open backpack by her head. 

"Jeez Julie, when are you not making a fool of yourself?"

Carrie turned and continued down the hall with Kayla, not paying much attention to the snickers of her fellow students. What was wrong with that girl? 

* * * *

Carrie was buzzing with excitement that next Wednesday. She had talked with Gary about keeping this shift indefinitely, and was planning on asking the ghosts if they were  _ actually _ ghosts. 

She was looking at new cow print nail inspiration on Pinterest when she noticed with a start it was already 1 minute past 5pm. Startled, she activated Lane 5, but frowned when no names were put in. Their usual pink and green balls stayed still on the rack. 

Carrie had started down a spiral of bad thoughts, of what ifs. What if she had angered them by not having the lane ready? What if they never came back? Was it the funnel cake? 

The chime of the bell signaling the arrival of a customer pulled Carrie back into work mode, but instantly scowled when Julie Molina approached her desk. 

"Molina. Came to bowl alone?" She sneered, forgetting to use her customer service voice. 

"No, came to join some friends. Anybody else here?" Julie rocked on the balls of her feet, looking around the lanes. 

"Just you. No one else is lonely enough to bowl alone."

"I'm not alone!" Julie snapped, but seemed to realize better judgement. "Size 6 shoes please."

Carrie turned on her heel, walking stiffly to the wall of bowling shoes. 

"That'll be 5 dollars."

Julie handed her a 20 dollar bill. "Actually, I'm paying for four."

Before Carrie could say anything else, the familiar pings of input in the scoreboard drew her attention to the monitor on the counter. 

_ Hot Dog _

_ Speed Bump _

_ Boss _

_ Simp _

"Hey hey break it up! Simp isn't an insult!" Julie shouted, then jogged over towards Lane 5, leaving Carrie to her thoughts. 

It would have been helpful if Carrie could see Luke putting 'Boss' for Julie, or Alex and Willie laughing over the typing pad, making Luke's new name for the next hour or so. 

It would have been helpful if Carrie could hear the conversation. 

"You are too a simp! Willie told me what it meant last week!" Alex laughed, despite Luke holding him in a headlock. 

"Then what is it?" Luke pleaded with Julie, who just shook her and joined Alex's laughter. 

"It's someone who would do anything for their love, borderline obsessive." Willie answered for her. 

Luke smiled, looking at Julie with that look that only meant trouble. She giggled as he scooped her up, picking her up and spinning her around. 

Unfortunately, Carrie only caught part of this conversation, only saw Julie floating through the air with her arms around someone invisible. Only heard her giggle 'that's what a simp would say' before Julie and her invisible pals played one very long game. Of course Julie Molina would go on a double date with ghosts. Who else? 

After their fun, Julie returned the shoes, and Carrie thought they might leave, but she dragged the ghosts into the photo booth for another 10 minutes. Carrie heard the printer spit out 5 reels of photos, and Julie's laughter. 

As she walked by the desk, she dropped one of the photo strips on top of Carrie's textbook. 

Warily, she picked it up, inspecting the two guys in the strip. They were both attractive, looked about 17 or 18, but definitely in love. The blond one was always smiling brightly, and in more than one photo the dark haired one had been caught gazing at the blond one. In handwriting Carrie recognized as Hot Dog's scrawl, there was writing above their heads on the first photo, labeling the blond as Hot Dog and the brunet as Speed Bump. 

Without saying anything more, Julie gave a goodbye hug to the one she identified as Speed Bump (and a 'nice to meet you') and walked out with her arms around the other two without sparing so much as a glance back at Carrie. 

They never spoke of it again. 


End file.
